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Publisher's Summary

Dear Listener,

You are presumably looking here for clues to the shocking conclusion of this terminal audiobook, or the ending of the end. The end of the end is the best place to begin the end, because if you listen to the end from the beginning of the beginning of the end to the end of the end of the end, you will arrive at the end of the end of your rope. This audiobook is the last in A Series of Unfortunate Events, and even if you braved the previous 12 volumes, you probably can't stand such unpleasantries as a fearsome storm, a suspicious beverage, a herd of wild sheep, an enormous bird cage, and a truly haunting secret about the Baudelaire parents.

It has been my solemn occupation to complete the history of the Baudelaire orphans, and at last I am finished. You likely have some other occupation, so if I were you, I would click away from this page at once, so the end does not finish you.

Story

Tim Curry makes a dreadful end nearly enjoyable

I topstarred this b/c Tim Curry is so amazing. It's not his fault Handler is so committed to a formulaic schtick whose charm wears thin. But the books are a bit of genius because everything that annoys me about them is also what made me fall for the series in the first place. Slyly jabbing at children's readers vocabulary building, moral dilemmas and shifting perspectives, ridiculous repetition and the classic "adults are so stupid and never believe children" of children's media to ludicrous extremes, and the occasional line which is just perfectly placed in the created mood and resonates as A Very True Thing.

In the end, the books are about the nature of people and the nature of storytelling vs. "real life." This is one of those books that improves as you take it apart and you see how things fit together under the gooey layer of schtick, but while you're experiencing it you can't help but entertain the notion that the author is a hack and the ending is a cop-out.
Tim Curry is amazing and listening to the books is more entertaining than reading them, although you do miss out on some things: the illustrations, and if I remember rightly in one of the books there is a gap of several pages, several blank pages creating a white space of suspense. I believe in the audio it's interpereted as a very long dramatic pause. So it's kind of a radio drama trick taken into a book for dramatic effect and transfered back into the audio, terribly meta. ;p
But the experience of it when you are holding a book halfway done in your hands and seeing blank pages is different from having to pull your ipod out of your pocket to confirm you've still got four hours (or whatever) of audio left differs. And sometimes you miss out on Sunny's puns/wordplay babble because they work better on the page.

Fascinating

If you aren't blown away by this book, you might need to go back and enjoy reading the full series now that you have heard the ending. All the clues come together. We find out who Lemony Snickett is and who the woman he loves and has been looking for is, and how this ties in with the orphans.

Of course, it doesn't resolve the whole series because there will be more stories with Kit Snickett's daughter + the Bodelaire orphans.

I have loved reading and listening to this whole series to my 8 year old- and the best part was, he didn't want to listen to the last 45 minutes of book 13, because he couldn't stand the thought of it ending.

Awesome to make a long car ride more tolerable!

We downloaded about half of the series and have driven through most of the east coast. Even if you've read the books with your child, the audio book is enjoyable enough to listen to again. Plus it's something everyone (including adults) in the car can enjoy. The only issue is that the sound volume is slighly inconsistent so we had to frequently adjust the volume on the stereo.

All good things must come to an end.

As a family we listened to all the Lemony Snicket books. Although it has been a few years, my children who are teens still remember these books. If you have a long drive your kids will sit there and listen to these books for hours on end. Since you will be trapped in the car with them, you will also have to like books. I enjoyed listening just as much as they did. I remember when we finished this book, my kids were quite sad that they would be no more. The ending was slightly weird and it seems as nothing was really resolved.

The Ersatz Ending

A book series often is worth more the journey than the final destination and A Series of Unfortunate Events is no exception. The End offers nice parallels back to a Bad Beginning, while shaking up the pre stablished formula, doubling down on the underlying themes of the Boudelaires adventure and answering a question or two. But unfortunately, at the same time, it only raises more and more questions and can't for as positively ambiguous it tries to be, it falls short leaving a sensation of incompleteness and that at least a few answers are owed to the reader/listener. Its Ersatzness is further corroborated by the prequel series and all the complimentary material to the Snickerverse that, just like the End, don't actually end or tie any knots. But nevertheless, the Boudelaires' plight seem stronger and more genuine than ever here and for once, I wish I had followed Snicket 's advice and put down this (áudio)book. yet, at the same time, I'm glad I did not.

Finally, The END!!!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Having read the previous 11 books in the series, I found listening to Tim Curry a bit less painful than reading the book. If you are looking for closure, you will be 50% disappointed. My daughter loved this story. My only plus is that this is THE END!

Which scene was your favorite?

The children in the hiding place sitting in the big comfortable chair reading the diary that had been left by their parents. This part of the closure I found enjoyable.